Social Studies

Every four years the world’s obsession with soccer descends upon a single country for a month-long global championship, the World Cup.

This year’s tournament promises an extra measure of intensity because of its location: Brazil. Few countries can claim its level of passion for the game or its expertise, with a record five wins. And few nations pose such daunting geographical and logistical challenges, with matches being held across three time zones and a variety of climates, from the steamy Amazon rain forest to the subtropical highlands.

In this lesson we explore both the World Cup, which kicks off next month, and the complex nation that is hosting it. Students will learn that mounting a major international tournament is about much more than the game, with a myriad preparations and political issues to be managed before the first ball is kicked.

Ways to Teach About the 2014 World Cup

Brazil in the Spotlight

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Petroswickonicovick Wandeckerkof da Silva Santos has also turned heads as a soccer prodigy. Related ArticleCredit Lianne Milton for The New York Times

Suppose you were planning a visit to the World Cup in Brazil. What would you expect to see and hear? Work in pairs or groups to fill out a K/W/L chart with what you know (or think you know) about Brazil and with questions you have about the country.

Then, take a tour of the world’s fifth most populous nation with the stories below, starting with a road trip across South America’s midsection with travel writer Monte Reel. Read about how the country’s economic boom has fizzled in recent years, the impact of immigrants in São Paulo and Brazil’s interesting tradition of long names.

When you’re done, select one story that interests you most and use it to finish your K/W/L chart, or to report to your class about what it reveals about this immense country of 200 million people.

Why is soccer so popular around the world? Could it ever become the dominant sport in the United States?

Read the stories below to get an idea of the passion that soccer inspires among its fans around the world including in Brazil, which many people consider the center of the soccer universe. Then, find out how the sport is faring among its American fans, more of whom bought tickets to the World Cup in Brazil than citizens of any other nation outside the host country.

If you had the job of encouraging enthusiasm for the World Cup among people your own age in the country where you live, how would you do it? Keep an eye on how “World Cup” fever manifests among the people you know or in your town or neighborhood this year. How much do you think it will grow between now and the 2018 World Cup in Russia? Why?

Adidas last Dec. unveiled the Brazuca, the official match ball of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Related ArticleCredit Adidas

Every World Cup gets its own brand-new soccer ball, along with a host of questions. Will this one fly straight, or wobble and soar as it approaches the goal?

Draw a poster that illustrates some of the aerodynamic properties of this year’s ball, or the notorious 2010 version that players described as “dreadful,” “shameful” and “the worst I’ve ever played with.” Then decide if having a new ball for each tournament is part of the romance of the World Cup, or just a marketing gimmick that interferes with the competition?

Will some teams have an advantage because they travel less during the tournament or because they have been scheduled to play in cities with a more moderate climate?

Let each student randomly choose a team from the 32 nations competing in Brazil and use Google Maps to calculate the total distance their team will travel during the first three games of the “group stage.” Then read the stories below to familiarize yourself with the stadiums being used around Brazil and the climate conditions players might encounter. Assign each team a difficulty score of 1 (easy) to 3 (very hard) for each stadium, based on the average temperature and humidity conditions expected in June. Discuss your results as a class, and vote on which teams face the most and least significant travel challenges.

Chris Wondolowski is among 30 players competing for 23 spots on the U.S. World Cup roster. Related ArticleCredit Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

There is practicing, especially for the players still trying to make the team. And someone’s got to make sure the team uniforms are ready too. Over in England, players are visiting a psychologist and worrying about their first match in Manaus, a city in the middle of the Amazon rain forest.

Imagine you are attending Brazil’s World Cup or are a travel agent arranging for someone else to go. Create a month-long itinerary that captures the best of the World Cup and the host country, Brazil. Which cities could you visit? What matches would you see? What preparations would you make to get to know Brazil and celebrate World Cup fever?

Updated | There are often fears when a large, populous country mounts an international gathering like the World Cup. There have been construction problems, including the deaths of some workers, protests over the expense and disruption of building new stadiums, and concerns about the social and environmental impacts of preparing for such an immense sports event.

Read the stories below, listing the problems you encounter. Then make a prediction on whether Brazil can pull it all together in time. Or, borrow an idea we detailed in 2007, ahead of the Beijing Olympics. In that lesson plan students were invited to do a S.W.O.T. (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis of China’s preparedness, a method easily applied to Brazil and the World Cup.

It won’t be long until women get their turn, with the 2015 Women’s World Cup scheduled to kick off in Canada next year.

Read about the 2012 success of the U.S. Olympic team in London. Then follow some of the players who hope to make the team next summer or in future years. Does women’s soccer seem to face different challenges than the men’s version? What would you suggest to help the women’s soccer reach its full potential?

Eusebio, left, playing for Benifica against AC Milan in a European Cup game in 1963. Related ArticleCredit Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Think baseball fans obsess over those historic games and obscure details? You should see soccer fans do it. They squabble over who scored the best goals, and someone at the Guardian newspaper in England actually gets paid to recreate them using Legos.

Read about New York Times sports columnist George Vecsey’s memories of eight World Cups, and join fans worldwide in remembering one of the game’s great players. Then, research your own soccer story from the game’s past, sharing a little-known drama or famous episode with classmates.

Finally, ask yourself: Is sports’ history different from other types of history?